He's considered the foremost European economic, monetary, and political integration expert.

Before the euro's 1998 introduction, he said one or more of Europe's weakest countries would face rising budget deficits, troubled economies, and a "downward spiral from which there is no escape unaided."

"When that happens, the country concerned will be faced with a risk of sovereign default."

In 1979, Europe's Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) was introduced. It's part of the European Monetary System (EMS). It was intended to propel the continent to one European currency unit (ECU).

ERM never worked. ECU failed. Connolly's views were prescient. His book explained.

His "central thesis is that the ERM and the EMU (European Monetary Union, the mechanism which ultimately brought the Euro into technical existence) are not only inefficient but also undemocratic: a danger not only to our wealth but to our freedom and ultimately, our peace."

"As we shall see, in France, the long arm of the authoritarian state pressurized dissident economists and bankers, deployed financial information programs on international TV channels, threatened securities houses with loss of business if they questioned the official economic line, and shamelessly used state-owned and even private-sector banks, in complete contradiction with their shareholder's interests and Community law, to support official policy."

"The economic profession in Europe organized literally hundreds of conferences, seminars and colloquia to which only conformist speakers were invited; and the Commission's 'research' programs financed large numbers of economic studies to provide the right results from known believers."

In other words, a system doomed to fail was fraudulently reengineered to look workable.

Europe is banker occupied territory. So is America. Finance is a new mode of warfare. Banking giants run things.

Economies are strip-mined for profit. Communities are laid waste. Ordinary people are impoverished. They're marginalized and left out.

"There is no means of avoiding a final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as a result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved."

Greece is a failed state. It's plundered for profit. It's a zombie country. It awaits its obituary to be written. Southern Europe is troubled. It's crumbling. It faces protracted Depression.

Cyprus now makes headlines. It's troubled. It's been so for months. Last June, Moody's and Standard & Poor's downgraded its debt to junk. It's practically worthless.

"The EU took action to levy a tax on deposits without consulting Russia, and for this reason we will further consider the issue of our participation from the point of view of restructuring the earlier loan."

Lines formed. Cash machines were emptied. Cypriots resent having their money confiscated. Those unable to act in time are stuck. So are overseas depositors.

On March 19, the Financial Times headlined "Cyprus braces for defeat on deposit levy," saying:

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said "Parliament is destined to reject this bill because (it's) considered unjust. We didn't expect such demands from our European partners."

Other ways to raise revenue may be considered. Parliament won't do anything unfriendly to international business. It wants burden sharing done by ordinary people. Robbing poor Peter to pay rich Paul is policy.

Expect other proposed measures. They reflect IMF terrorism. They include mass layoffs, wage, benefit and social spending cuts, other tax increases on working households, and selling state assets at fire sale prices.

Bailout out bankers matters most. So does protecting large investors. Eurocrats are adamant. They want ordinary people bearing the burden.

Significant risks are involved. Capital flight may follow. Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain risk trouble. Last year, a run on its banks nearly brought Spain to its knees.

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